Eliot Finkel Investment Counsel LLC Cuts Stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Eliot Finkel Investment Counsel LLC lessened its stake in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 24,025 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 275 shares during the quarter. McDonald’s comprises 4.4% of Eliot Finkel Investment Counsel LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Eliot Finkel Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $6,965,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MCD. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 542.9% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 801,858 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $244,174,000 after purchasing an additional 677,139 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 43,591.6% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 590,711 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $171,241,000 after purchasing an additional 589,359 shares in the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the 3rd quarter worth about $121,254,000. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI boosted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 3,580.1% during the 3rd quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 268,650 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $81,807,000 after purchasing an additional 261,350 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC lifted its position in McDonald’s by 26,948.9% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 227,752 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $66,023,000 after acquiring an additional 226,910 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on MCD shares. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $336.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Loop Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $342.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $297.00 to $290.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $323.61.

McDonald’s Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE:MCD opened at $308.17 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $220.18 billion, a PE ratio of 27.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.74. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $294.06 and its 200 day moving average is $295.27. McDonald’s Co. has a 12 month low of $243.53 and a 12 month high of $317.90.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.73% and a negative return on equity of 181.63%. Research analysts predict that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.30%. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is 62.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In other news, EVP Tiffanie L. Boyd sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.27, for a total transaction of $309,270.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,564 shares in the company, valued at $1,720,778.28. The trade was a 15.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $291.10, for a total transaction of $319,918.90. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 8,187 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,383,235.70. This trade represents a 11.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 33,504 shares of company stock valued at $10,206,575 in the last 90 days. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About McDonald’s

McDonald’s Corp. engages in the operation and franchising of restaurants. It operates through the following segments: U.S., International Operated Markets, and International Developmental Licensed Markets and Corporate. The U.S. segment focuses its operations on the United States. The International Operated Markets segment consists of operations and the franchising of restaurants in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and the U.K.